Tag: BMI-1

Colorectal cancer is the third leading cause of death in the Western World. Like many other types of cancer, colorectal cancer spreads and is propagated by cancer stem cells. Therefore, understanding how to inhibit the growth of cancer stem cells provides a key to treating the cancer itself.

By inactivating a gene that drives stem cell renewal in cancer stem cells, scientists and surgeons at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto, Canada, have discovered a promising new approach to treating colorectal cancer.

John Dick, a senior scientist at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, said, “This is the first step toward clinically applying the principles of cancer stem cell biology to control cancer growth and advance the development of durable cures.”

In preclinical experiments with laboratory rodents, Dick and his team identified a gene called BMI-1 as a pivotal regulator of colon cancer stem cell proliferation. With this knowledge in hand, Dick’s laboratory dedicated many hours to finding small molecules that disarm BMI-1. Then Dick and his co-workers replicated human colorectal cancer in mice, and used their BMI-1-inhibiting small molecules to treat these cancer-stricken mice.

According to lead author of this work, Antonija Kreso: “Inhibiting a recognized regulator of self-renewal is an effective approach to control tumor growth, providing strong evidence for the clinical relevance of self-renewal as a biological process for therapeutic targeting.”

Dr. Dick explained: “When we blocked the BMI-1 pathway, the stem cells were unable to self-renew, which resulted in long-term and irreversible impairment of tumor growth. In other words, the cancer was permanently shut down.”

The clinical potential of this approach is significant, since it provides a viable treatment that specifically targets colon cancer. About 65% of all colorectal cancers have an activated BMI-1 pathway. Since physicians now have techniques for identifying the presence of BMI-1 and the tools to inhibit it, this strategy could translate into a clinical treatment that might radically transform the treatment of aggressive, advanced colorectal cancers. Such a treatment would be specific, personal, and specific. May the phase 1 trials begin soon!!!